Shelley Marmor made $0 from her travel blog in 2020 - here’s how it reached $272,769 in gross revenue by 2022

Shelley Marmor started her first travel blog in April 2020 and made zero money that year. Then by 2022, her blogging business had generated $272,769 in gross revenue, while her income had increased 3,113% from the previous year, according to a Starter Story case study.

Shelley Marmor started her travel blog in 2020

Marmor launched her first travel blog, Travel Mexico Solo, in April 2020, according to Starter Story.

She was living full-time in Mexico and wanted the blog to inspire other women to travel alone. The blog did not generate any income during its first year.


Marmor told Starter Story that she spent 2020 looking for free information online to learn how to monetize a blog.

She made $8,490 from the blog in 2021

In 2021, Marmor invested $1,000 in a course to learn more about building her blogging business. She made $8,490 that year from her travel blog, according to Starter Story.

Marmor also said she worked more than 60 hours a week during 2021 while building the business.

Her income jumped 3,113% in 2022

Marmor’s income changed significantly in 2022. According to Starter Story, she made $272,769 in gross revenue and $177,325 in net income that year.

Starter Story reported that her income increased by 3,113% from the previous year. The figures show the change from the $8,490 she made in 2021 to the $272,769 in gross revenue reported for 2022.

She began teaching other bloggers

After becoming a six-figure blogger in 2022, Marmor began teaching others how she had built her business. She created courses for bloggers and also offered one-on-one client work.

According to Starter Story, she was invited to speak at a blogging conference and created a live master class. The first class sold all 50 available Zoom spots, while a second class sold about half of its spots.

SEO became a key part of her blogging strategy

Marmor told Starter Story that SEO was her main strength in blogging. She relied on organic traffic from SEO and a weekly email to promote her courses. She also said she had spent $0 on advertising at the time of the interview.

Starter Story reported that she earned $48,041 from courses, coaching, teaching services and digital products over six months, while her blogs continued generating passive income.

Marmor expanded her blogging business

By April 2023, Marmor said she had four travel blogs and a blog about blogging, with all of them profitable.

According to Starter Story, she averaged $55,688 per month from her blogging business between January and April 2023.

Her highest month-to-date during that period was March 2023, when she made $75,196 gross from blogging and teaching.

Marmor’s blogging journey began with a travel site that generated $0 in its first year. In 2021 she made $8,490 and then in 2022, she made $272,769 in gross revenue, which is a 3,113% increase in income over the previous year.